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NOTES, NEWS AND DISCOVERIES

December 2015

The “Egidio Feruglio” Paleontology Museum turns 25 years old

Today, the Mef celebrates 25 years since it was first open, at an old building in downtown Trelew, Patagonia. From that moment, this Institution has grown beyond its exhibitions, becoming an internationally recognized center of scientific activities considered unique of its type in South America.

Patagonia is a land worldwide known for its fossil fields, so vast and rich, that have been of interest for generations of paleontologists. And it is here, in Trelew city, where the MEF has taken, for the last 25 years, the commitment of protecting, investigating and sharing Patagonia´s paleontological richness.

August 2015

A new species of dinosaur is discovered in South Africa

A MEF paleontologist is involved in the recent discovery made between Argentine and South African researchers that highlights the importance of both territories in the origin and diversification of sauropods.

Sefapanosaurus zastronensis, as he was named because of the particularity of its ankle bone in a cross shape, belonged to the group of basal Sauropodomorphs, bipedal herbivores with long necks and small heads, ancestors of the sauropods, the large four-legged, long-necked dinosaurs.

In 1930, in the district of Zastron (South Africa), it was extracted a part of the left foot and several pieces of the spine and limbs of a dinosaur which was initially classified as a primitive sauropodomorph.

August 2015

MEF researchers collaborated in the discovery of a new dinosaur in Colombia

Important discovery between Colombian and Argentinian paleontologists gives a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of large herbivorous dinosaurs.

This is the first species of Colombian dinosaur to be described. Padillasaurus leivaensis, as paleontologists named it, belonged to the family of brachiosauridaes, one of the groups of large herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks that characterized most of the Mesozoic Era.